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Friday, June 21, 2019

AASWomen Newsletter for June 21, 2019

AAS Committee on the Status of WomenAAS Committee on the Status of WomenIssue of June 21, 2019eds: Nicolle Zellner, Heather Flewelling, Maria Patterson, and JoEllen McBride

[AAS has migrated their email system to Microsoft Exchange, so please check your spam folder if you did not receive the newsletter this week. It is no longer possible to subscribe or unsubscribe to the AASWomen newsletter by means of Google Groups. We have updated our subscribe and unsubscribe instructions below. Please follow us on social media for updates and thank you for bearing with us as we work out all the kinks.Twitter @AAS_Women Facebook https://bit.ly/2PkU9of

Dr. Vera Rubin, who passed away in Dec. 2016, was one of the most important astrophysicists of the 20th and 21st centuries. She received her Ph.D. from Georgetown University in 1954, and pioneered the study of galaxy rotation rates that provided definitive evidence for the existence of Dark Matter. Dr. Rubin was also a fierce and effective advocate for women in science. This symposium to honor and celebrate her legacy brings together astrophysicists whose research was made possible by Dr. Rubin’s discoveries to present the latest developments in the field and discuss the connections with Dr. Rubin’s discoveries.

Back to top.3. A Push For More Inclusivity In ScienceFrom: Alessandra Aloisi [aloisi_at_stsci.edu]

"Diversity is inherent to the functioning of our world. In fact, there is a physical phenomena known as entropy, which states that the universe naturally moves toward a state of more disorder, or more diverse environment. Perhaps we don't need to go as far an abstract concept of the universe, we can look at our daily life. Although many of us may have established routines, we still seek to freshen things up and try out new adventures. This is explained by the myriad of business built that offer diversity: for example there are many options available to us, from travel to restaurants, to books or TV series. The existence of all these of these offerings serve as an example as to how we as human beings seek out diversity. In fact, I have previously written that diversity also plays an important function in business, where companies that are more diverse have 19% higher revenue."

"Many agencies do not require institutions to report findings of harassment by government-funded researchers.

Several major US government science agencies say they have received few reports of sexual harassment by the researchers whose work they fund, despite studies that have found such behaviour to be pervasive in US academic science."

Back to top.5. NIH should ask both institutions and investigators to report sexual harassment findings, advisory group saysFrom: Pat Knezek [pknezek_at_gmail.com]

"To combat sexual harassment in biomedical research, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) should ask grant applicants directly whether they have been found guilty of sexual harassment and require institutions to tell NIH about any such findings, as well as investigations. Those recommendations were released today by a working group advising NIH about how to bolster its policies in this hot-button area."

"Another unintended consequence is that women can be penalized by the programmes designed to help them. A 2014 analysis found that women make up more than 70% of Athena SWAN champions, a labour-intensive role that takes time away from their research. My colleague and I found similar patterns in an analysis of 11 institutions with silver SWAN awards: ten teams had more female members than male; eight of the submission teams were led by women."

Back to top.8. Where Are All the Working Mothers in STEM?From: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Cui Wang

"The greatest challenge in the life of a mother-scientist, almost without exception, lies in refining the balance between the two rewarding roles. It takes effort and adjustment, not to mention compromise and sacrifice. It’s not about “having it all" - which, in my opinion, is an unhealthy, unhelpful expectation - nor is it about being one thing more than the other. My passion lies in my field, and my pride in my children."

Back to top.10. Why women in tech are being Photoshopped in instead of hiredFrom: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Rani Molla

"An image of a tech event in which two women CEOs were poorly Photoshopped into a group of 15 men reignited a discussion last week about tech companies’ ongoing failures to meaningfully diversify their workforces.

Companies like Google and Facebook have overturned industries, changed the way we live, and are shaping the future. Yet somehow they haven’t been able to hire a workforce that even remotely represents their customers. Across the tech industry, the share of black and Latinx people in tech and leadership roles is often well below 5 percent, while women typically make up about a fifth to a quarter of those positions."

Back to top.12. An interview with the CLEAR Lab’s Queer Science Reading GroupFrom: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Lady Science

"For most of the past year, members of the CLEAR (Civic Lab for Environmental Action Research) Lab in St. John’s, Newfoundland have grappled with that question. As an anticolonial and feminist marine plastics lab, CLEAR focuses mainly on monitoring the presence of plastics in waterways and wild food. Since last fall, CLEAR members have held a queer science reading group to consider how to put queer theories into scientific practice.

Lady Science spoke with two members of the CLEAR lab to discuss how this queer science reading group came into being, and how they hope to use what they’ve learned to develop a queer science manifesto. "

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